murdock peak

It's generally pretty hot out here in Utah this time of year, snow and ice in the mountains notwithstanding, so we try to find hikes that are at least partly shaded.  Last Saturday took us up to the top of Millcreek Canyon (itself a fairly well-shaded place) and a hike up Murdock Peak.  Our go-to hiking book, 60 Hikes within 60 Miles: Salt Lake City, describes it as a moderate, mostly shaded hike to a saddle at the top of the canyon, overlooking Park City on the east side.  We did that, then added on a bushwhack to Murdock Peak just for the heck of it.

Still some snow at Canyons ski resort

The Upper Big Water trailhead parking area at the top of Millcreek Canyon is pretty big, but even so we had to park 0.7 miles down the road as that parking area, the lower parking area and the overflow parking were all full.  Despite this, we saw hardly any people which led us to believe that there must be lots and lots of other trails up there, enabling the recreating folks to spread out.  Although this trail was supposed to be an out-and-back, we managed to make it a loop by ascending on a newer, still under-construction (but really 99% done) trail with nice, soft, packed dirt footing.  The trail was in and out of wooded areas and mountain meadows; we saw lots of huge dragonflies and a couple of hummingbirds taking advantage of the wildflowers.

That's the drainage we bushwhacked through

to reach the trail down below

At the saddle, we joined up with the Great Western Trail, a popular mountain-biking trail that we had touched upon last year on our Desolation Lake hike.  We took a look out to the east, identifying the town of Park City and Canyons ski resort, before forging our way up the ridgeline, following game trails and bushwhacking through the scrubby growth.  We walked along the Canyons ski boundary line, finding a couple of sizable snow patches, before summiting on Murdock Peak.

Admiring the aspen grove

As we admired the view, we realized we could see the return trail far below us on the upper canyon floor.  A clearly defined drainage led down to it through a grove of aspens and we figured that we could easily bushwhack on down.  That aspen grove was gorgeous, like a great green cathedral, bright blue sky peeking through the leaves.  We easily found our way back to the trail and followed it out, opting for the older, lower trail on the exodus.  This trail's footing was slightly less pleasant than our outgoing walk: rocky, muddy and with several creek crossings - which H just tromped right through, enjoying the cool-off.

Speaking of cooling off, when we got back to the car we liberated the cooler and took it down to the banks of the creek for our post-hike beverages.  I stuck my feet in the water but had to yank them back out after only twenty seconds - still wicked cold with snowmelt!

Hike statistics:  8.6 miles, approximately 1.4 of which was bushwhacking; 4 hours 16 minutes, including snack and view breaks; beginning elevation 7,052 ft., Murdock Peak summit 9,602 ft., total elevation gain of 2,550 ft.